Figure 7.4. Percentage of 1992 12th-graders who were likely postsecondary participants who completed a bachelor's degree or higher by 2000, by race/ethnicity

NOTE: "Likely postsecondary participants" include those for whom transcripts were received, those for whom transcripts were requested but not received, and those for whom other evidence in the NELS files supports the student's report of postsecondary attendance. "Bachelor's degree or above" includes bachelor's degrees, incomplete graduate degrees and nondegree post-baccalaureate work, master's, first-professional, and doctoral degrees.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88/2000), "Fourth Follow-up," and Postsecondary Education Transcript Study (PETS), 2000.

American Indians/Alaska Natives were less likely to earn a bachelor's or higher degree than their peers.

In 2000, the bachelor's and higher degree graduation rates for American Indians/Alaska Natives (who were 12th-graders in 1992) were lower than the graduation rates for the total population (who were 12th-graders in 1992). Of the American Indian/Alaska Native 1992 12th-graders who were likely postsecondary participants, 11 percent received a bachelor's degree as their highest degree by 2000 versus 31 percent for the total population of likely postsecondary participants. American Indians/Alaska Natives were less likely to have received a bachelor's degree by 2000 than White (34 percent), Black (24 percent), and Asian/Pacific Islander (34 percent) students who were likely postsecondary participants. Also, of the American Indian/Alaska Native 1992 12th-graders who were likely postsecondary participants, 2 percent received a graduate degree by 2000 versus 6 percent of the total population of likely postsecondary participants. American Indians/Alaska Natives were less likely to have received a graduate degree by 2000 than White (6 percent) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8 percent) students, but had similar rates as Black (2 percent) and Hispanic (3 percent) students. All figures are based on the 2000 educational attainment of those who were 12th-graders in 1992 and who were likely postsecondary participants (those for whom transcripts were received or requested and those for whose files supported postsecondary attendance).